Rapids officially sign López

The Colorado Rapids officially announced on Friday that they
have signed Argentine midfielder Claudio López, helping to shore up one of the league’s
most prolific offenses with a proven commodity internationally and in MLS.

López, 35, last played for the Kansas City Wizards, where he
signed on as the first Designated Player in club history in 2008 and eventually
tallied 13 goals and 15 assists in two seasons. He left the team in February
after he was unable to reach terms on a contract following the 2009 season.

“Any time
you can add a talented player like Claudio to your club, the group becomes
better,” head coach Gary Smith said in a statement. “Claudio brings with him a tremendous
amount of international experience at the highest levels and he has proven
himself as a playmaker in our league."

Prior to joining MLS, López made 124 appearances with
Spanish side Valencia from 1996-2000. He went on to appear in 105 matches for
Italian Serie A side Lazio and 87 more with storied Mexican franchise Club
América, helping the latter win the 2006 CONCACAF Champions' Cup.

López has
58 career appearances and 10 goals for Argentina's national team and appeared
in both the 1998 and 2002 World Cups.

Colorado
hasn’t been shy about its search for another scorer to complement Conor Casey and
Omar Cummings up top, and earlier this week club officials told MLSsoccer.com they were
looking for an addition who “can have an impact on the group.”

“Players who can bring us a little something different, someone who can give
us a spark and maybe come in off the bench and create havoc,” Rapids technical director
Paul Bravo said.